The Children of Jacob

³¹ When the Lord ^(A)saw that Leah was ^[a]unloved, He ^(B)opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. ³² So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name ^[b]Reuben; for she said, “The Lord has surely ^(C)looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me.” ³³ Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am ^[c]unloved, He has therefore given me this son also.” And she called his name ^[d]Simeon. ³⁴ She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called ^[e]Levi. ³⁵ And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name ^(D)Judah.^[f] Then she stopped bearing.

Jacob’s Children

30 Now when Rachel saw that ^(E)she bore Jacob no children, Rachel ^(F)envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, ^(G)or else I die!”

² And Jacob’s anger was aroused against Rachel, and he said, ^(H)“Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?”

³ So she said, “Here is ^(I)my maid Bilhah; go in to her, ^(J)and she will bear a child on my knees, ^(K)that I also may ^[g]have children by her.” ⁴ Then she gave him Bilhah her maid ^(L)as wife, and Jacob went in to her. ⁵ And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. ⁶ Then Rachel said, “God has ^(M)judged my case; and He has also heard my voice and given me a son.” Therefore she called his name ^[h]Dan. ⁷ And Rachel’s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son. ⁸ Then Rachel said, “With ^[i]great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister, and indeed I have prevailed.” So she called his name ^[j]Naphtali.

⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took Zilpah her maid and ^(N)gave her to Jacob as wife. ¹⁰ And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son. ¹¹ Then Leah said, ^[k]“A troop comes!” So she called his name ^[l]Gad. ¹² And Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. ¹³ Then Leah said, “I am happy, for the daughters ^(O)will call me blessed.” So she called his name ^[m]Asher.

¹⁴ Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, ^(P)“Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵ But she said to her, ^(Q)“Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?”

And Rachel said, “Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁶ When Jacob came out of the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must come in to me, for I have surely hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night.

¹⁷ And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son. ¹⁸ Leah said, “God has given me my wages, because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she called his name ^[n]Issachar. ¹⁹ Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son. ²⁰ And Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name ^[o]Zebulun. ²¹ Afterward she bore a ^(R)daughter, and called her name ^[p]Dinah.

²² Then God ^(S)remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and ^(T)opened her womb. ²³ And she conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away ^(U)my reproach.” ²⁴ So she called his name ^[q]Joseph, and said, ^(V)“The Lord shall add to me another son.”

Death of Rachel

¹⁶ Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor. ¹⁷ Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Do not fear; ^(A)you will have this son also.” ¹⁸ And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name ^[a]Ben-Oni; but his father called him ^[b]Benjamin.